The Post-Standard/ Peter ChenNew York State Trooper Ronald Morse, with his canine partner Prime. Morse fell through the ice three times while rescuing Albert J. Merola, of Cicero. Merola and his dog fell through the thin ice on Oneida Lake.

North Syracuse, NY – The three fishermen who aided in the rescue of a Cicero man who fell through the ice last week will be honored by the New York State police in a ceremony Friday at the North Syracuse barracks.

The men, James Parkhurst Sr., 35, of Oswego, Alan P. Waldron, 34, of Phoenix, and Eric A. Wilsey, 31, of Fulton, were fishing through the ice on Oneida Lake near Beach Road in Cicero at 1:45 p.m. Thursday when they heard a man calling for help.

Albert J. Merola, 45, of 8904 Beach Road, was walking his golden retriever on the ice about 250 feet from shore when he and the dog fell through. See our earlier coverage.

While the victim's wife called 911, the fishermen at first tried to reach him with a wooden pole.

One of the first rescuers to arrive was Trooper Ronald Morse, 48, a K-9 officer based at the North Syracuse station with just days left until his retirement.

Morse could see that the fishermen’s attempts to reach Merola weren’t working. The trooper grabbed a rope from his patrol vehicle, tied one end around his waist and handed the other to one of the fishermen.

The trooper inched out on his belly to better distribute his weight on the ice to reach the victim with a rope.

The men pulled the trooper to safety after the ice under him broke three times, including once when Morse was completely submerged.

The trooper was finally able to get a flotation device out to Merola. The men were able to pull the victim and trooper to safety.

The trooper rescued the dog, too.

Although the trooper and victim were wet and cold, no one was injured during the rescue.

Rescue on Oneida LakeAlbert J. Merola speaks about his rescue by a New York State trooper and three fishermen after he fell through the weak ice on Oneida Lake.